Preheat the oven to 350°F. Sift the flour into a medium bowl. Cut the butter and cream cheese into the flour using two knives or a pastry blender, continuing past the point where the dough just begins to hold together. Because there is no added liquid, the dough needs to be blended longer than a standard pie crust.

Gather the dough into a ball and divide it into 24 pieces. Shape the dough into a log, halve it, cut each half into thirds, then cut each third into 4 pieces. Pinch dough from larger pieces onto smaller ones to even them out.

Press each piece of dough into one cup of a miniature muffin tin using your forefinger to form a thin, even shell.

Combine the apples, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Toss to coat evenly, then taste and adjust sugar, lemon juice, or spices as needed. Add the cornstarch and toss to coat.

Stir the vanilla into the melted butter. Add the brown sugar, flour, and finely chopped pecans and mix with a fork until evenly moistened. The mixture should hold together when squeezed and break into crumbles when released. If it is too dry, add melted butter one teaspoon at a time.

Spoon a heaping teaspoon of apple filling into each unbaked pastry shell, filling to the top. The filling will cook down considerably.

Mound crumble generously over each filled shell, pressing it lightly to adhere.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is bubbling around the edges and the crumble and crust have begun to brown. Cool completely in the tin before removing. To release, spin each pie gently in its cup to loosen the edges, then press down lightly on one side to lift it out.